:: Death Angel - Relentless Retribution (limited edition with bonus DVD)

Death Angel

Although having been a long time fan of San Franciscan thrash act Death Angel, I wasn’t expecting anything truly groundbreaking from their comeback album ‘The Art Of Dying’ back in 2004. But to my complete surprise, the album not only became one of my favourite releases of the year, but also one of my personal favourites from the band. Unfortunately, their follow-up effort ‘Killing Season’ (2008) didn’t quite have the same impact on me. While there’s no denying it was a fine album, there just seemed to be a little something missing in the song writing, which meant that while the album was another solid effort from the band, it didn’t eclipse the brilliance of ‘The Art Of Dying’. It’s been two years since then, and while the band’s presence as a live band was well documented on 2009’s live album/DVD ‘Sonic Beatdown - Live In Germany’, it also represented the end of an era, with bassist Dennis Pepa and drummer Andy Galeon having since left the band.

Not wanting to waste any time, the remaining members of Death Angel (Vocalist Mark Osegueda and guitarists Ted Aguilar and Rob Cavestany) soon recruited bassist Damien Sisson and drummer Will Carroll (Both San Francisco natives who have played together in Scarecrow) into the fold, and commenced work on sixth full-length effort. Given the new line-up, and the disappointment of their last effort, I was expecting ‘Relentless Retribution’ to be anything but a solid Death Angel release at best. But lo and behold, I’ll be damned if the band haven’t outdone themselves and put together the best effort since their return to the thrash scene. It’s clear that the new members have injected a much needed spark into the veteran act, with the opening title track ‘Relentless Revolution’ a defiant statement of the band’s return to form. Although sounding as heavy as anything heard on the band’s release, Jason Suecof’s production allows the dynamics within the band’s song writing to be presented in a clarity that was sadly missing the last time around, while Osegueda’s vocals sound positively possessed throughout. The follow up track ‘Claws In So Deep’ takes the lead of the opener and pushes it even further, with the band broadening their experimentation on the vocal front to allow an equal mix of melodic and the aggressive, all the while adding a progressive edge to the familiar thrash template with guitarist Rodrigo Y Gabriela helping to spice up the song with his tasteful acoustic guitar work toward the tail end. The first single/promotional video clip ‘Trust’, which features a guest solo appearance from Suecof, is an absolutely venomous thrash blast from start to finish, while tracks such as ‘River Of Rapture’, the thumping pile drive of ‘This Hate’, ‘I Chose The Sky’ and ‘Where They Lay’ only fuel the aggressive feel of the album throughout.

But if there’s one thing that separates Death Angel from most within the thrash scene it’s the diversity shown within their albums - and in that respect, ‘Relentless Retribution’ is no different. The mid-paced ‘Into The Arms Of Righteous Anger’ may be lacking in the speed department, but is no less interesting with Carroll’s relentless drumming and some killer leads, while the powerfully calculated groove of ‘Absence Of Light’, the multifaceted/progressive edged ‘Death Of The Meek’ and the acoustic based ‘Volcanic’ (Which features Cavestany on vocals) only helps give ‘Relentless Retribution’ a depth and scope beyond the one dimensional feel of most thrash albums. As an added bonus, the limited edition version of ‘Relentless Retribution’ comes with a thirty-eight minute DVD capturing the making of the band’s new album. Unlike most DVDs that accompany these special editions, Death Angel’s one is actually quite informative and well put together, and takes the viewer from the early rehearsal sessions where the band are compiling the songs, right through to recording in the studio. Along the way, the individual interviews discuss the loss of old members, the introduction of new members, the process behind writing the songs, the recording process and what they hope they themselves and fans get out of the album. All up, it’s a great DVD.

Death Angel hasn’t released a bad album to date, but there are some releases that I like more than others. ‘Relentless Retribution’ just happens to be one of my favourites from the band since they reformed, and by far one of the strongest album’s 2010 had to offer up by a long shot